FIFA World Cup 2010: Rivals England vs Germany in the Pre-Quarterfinal Clash
They say that an animal is most dangerous when he is sleeping, and given his performances in the recent matches, no one can argue that Wayne Rooney has been sleeping so far in the tournament, and the same fact is giving the German manager Joachim Loew sleepless nights.
England made sure of their qualification last night when they beat Slovenia 1-0, thanks to a Jermain Defoe header midway through the second half, but were denied the top spot in their group by the United States of America, as a last gasp winner by Landon Donovan in stoppage time against Algeria ensured that USA would be topping the group.
Germany also topped their group by beating Ghana 1-0 yesterday, and despite the loss, Ghana progressed to the next round courtesy a better goal difference than Australia, who beat Serbia 2-1 on the same night.
The results mean that in the first knockout round of the World Cup, England will face Germany, and Ghana will take on USA.
Both England and Germany are not the ideal opponents for each other, as both would have loved to avoid each other, but such is the fate of the two teams that they will come head to head in a mouth-watering clash on the 27th of June.
German coach Joachim Loew is wary of the threat that England present them, and fears that Wayne Rooney, who has had been sleepwalking through England’s matches so far, could explode into life given the importance of the match, and could be the deciding factor in the game.
"Rooney may not have been a big gun so far, but he is always ready to explode. He is difficult to mark and control, so our defence will need to watch that he doesn't score," Joachim Loew was quoted as saying.
This is not the first time that the two countries are meeting at the World Cup, as the two have their own history. England were eliminated by the Germans at the semi-final stage at the Italia 90 when Gazza missed a decisive penalty, and in 2002, under Sven Eriksson, England ran riot in Germany, beating them by 5 goals to 1, with Michael Owen scoring a magnificent hat-trick.
Rooney will hold the key for England if they are to come out of the match unscathed, and Germany are aware of this. However, the Germans have plenty of firepower of their own, and combined with the formidable defence that they have, they can prove to be a handful for England.
"We are looking forward to taking on England; it's always special for us. There is a great history in the World Cup between England and Germany. I've watched England's matches so far, they were struggling in the first two matches but that is quite normal, sometimes you only pick up speed as you go through the tournament. They haven't shown the best of form so far but make no mistake, this is a wonderful team. England have enormous experience so this team is going to be incredibly dangerous," said Loew.
Loew, however, is sweating about the fitness of his three main players Bastian Schweinsteiger, Mesut Ozil and Jerome Boateng. Ozil scored a magnificent winner for Germany against Ghana, but was struggling with what appeared to be an ankle injury, while Boateng has suffered a back injury and Bastian Schweinsteiger has a muscle strain.
But all the players are likely to return to full fitness before the England game, and should they not, Loew’s side will hand the initiative over to England even before the start of the game.
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